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Wednesday, November 23, 2016

South of the New Maas

The north and the south parts of the city of Rotterdam is divided by a river named the Nieuwe Maas. As my campus and the city center is located within the north, I don’t often travel to the southern part of Rotterdam. Until one day I decided to have a better look at the Erasmusburg and took the metro to Wilhelminaplein. Upon exiting the station I can see the Erasmus Bridge standing tall and proud in the distance.

After a while, I decided to take a seat at the pier which faces the bridge and enjoyed a sunny yet windy day in Rotterdam. I took a spot in front of De Rotterdam building — the largest building in Rotterdam which consist of restaurant, office area and residence that is uniquely designed with various plinth upon different heights of the building.

It is also nice to walk along the pier and you'll find several building offices, Nederlands Fotomuseum and the Port of Rotterdam. I found myself at the end of the pier and found Hotel New York - one of the famous remnant of Dutch - American history in Rotterdam. By its history this hotel used to be an office for Holland America Lines - a cruise line which is integral to the shipping and passenger lines between the country. Now, as the port and its cruise terminal is one of the main hub of New York and Rotterdam, the hotel name is seemingly appropriate. The site itself is listed as one of the Dutch national heritage

I sat around at the park across the hotel and enjoyed some boat and people-watching. After a while I then decided to leave the edge of the Wilhelminaplein and then took a walk across the Rijnhavenbrug and to the area named Katendrecht. With the ships coming from either sides, it is such a nice sight to have under one sunny day. You can discover how big the port area in Rotterdam really is, exploring this particular area.

Having no idea what to do next, I checked out Google Map and found out that there’s a tourism spot, a ship in particular, SS Rotterdam which is a former cruis ship of the Holland-America Line and one of their greatest one at that, that is now accessible to the public as it has turned into a hotel, restaurant and business facilities. Curious, I just popped in and went ‘aboard’ the cruise and explored many of its levels including its dock, lounge, and swimming pool. unfortunately there was a wedding event that day so I cannot take a peek of their ballroom. It was an interesting site for a quick visit and as the cruise is situated on a port on top of a water you can also have a beautiful sight across the Nieuwe Maas from the inside of the ship.

It is night to see this other side of Rotterdam. Despite there were a lot of touristic spots, there's not much tourist to be spotted around the area. I thought that the area is very nice and soothing. Recently I revisited the Wilhelminaplein neighborhood to catch a good amount of fresh air and ship-watching along the deck. Remind me to bring some snacks and drinks next time to make it more fun.